Union complaint kicked upstairs - to Washington

The regional office of the National Labor Relation's Board is seeking advice from its national office over an issue in the Northern Michigan Hospital nurses strike.

Stephen Glasser, regional director for the board, confirmed the Northern Michigan Hospital matter is going to be sent from the regional office in Detroit to the National Labor Relation Board's Office of Advice for review. At issue is the union's insistence the hospital unlawfully rejected the union's status based on a petition the hospital says was signed by a majority of the nurses.

This led to an election early this summer where 195 nurses voted against union representation at Northern Michigan Hospital, while 109 voted for the union. However, an additional 183 votes have been challenged. The National Labor Relation Board said there were 561 nurses eligible to vote.

Barbara Allen, spokesperson for the hospital said this new development means the process could take another 60 to 90 days or longer to complete.

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Glasser would not confirm or deny this timeline.

"In compliance with federal labor law, Northern Michigan Hospital withdrew recognition upon notification from a majority of Northern Michigan Hospital nurses stating that they no longer wish to be represented by the Teamsters Union. We remain confident that the National Labor Relation Board will accept the will of the nurses and deny the pending unfair labor practice charge," said Tom Mroczkowski, President and CEO of the hospital in a written statement.

Ted Iorio, attorney for the union, said the move to send the matter to the Office of Advice may be a positive sign for the union's case

"It means, at least at first blush, the labor board, at least the region, is not taking the position the hospital is correct in rejecting the union, so they are going to Washington to get input on it," Iorio said. "In my 35 years of experience that doesn't happen very often."

He said when the hospital rejected the union based on the petition it says was signed by a majority of nurses, it counted 425 registered nurses. Iorio said this number is too low, adding when the strike started there were 500 nurses on staff with 65 vacancies.

Added to the fact the hospital is growing, such as its addition of two new cath labs and an expanded emergency room, the need for nurses grows.

He said this means the hospital undercounted the nurses or did not count the striking nurses when it did the petition.

In response, Allen said in a written statement, "From the very beginning, we knew that following the majority of our nurses' decision to withdraw recognition would be considered contentious by the union. Given the number of issues raised by the union in their challenge, we are not surprised that the local National Labor Relation's Board office would seek advice from the national office in Washington. We look forward to the national office reviewing the matter and remain confident that the majority of our nurses' voices will be heard."